I, Mark Wassink, personally commit to the following:

Personal Commitment 

• I will use my position as Managing Partner to advocate for DE&I in my firm, the legal profession and my community.
• I will be an active ally in the development and advancement of our diverse attorneys and firm members.
• I will serve an active leadership role on our firm’s DE&I Action Committee, including attending monthly DE&I Action Committee meetings and monthly DE&I leadership meetings.
• I will support our DE&I Manager to move us forward in all aspects of DE&I.
• I will be a strong ally for our Firm Resource Groups.
• I will include DE&I topics and updates in the agendas for our bi-monthly Management Committee meetings, and our monthly partners’ meetings.
• I will report our DE&I accolades and successes to all firm members.
• I will be active in community organizations that are committed to increasing DE&I.
• I will not be deterred in our efforts to advance DE&I at WNJ.

Organizational Commitment 

• My firm will continue to include and track DE&I initiatives and goals in our annual business plan.
• My firm will continue to be transparent and report our DE&I metrics by sharing our WNJ DE&I Annual Report with our clients and community (a report that we have provided annually for over 15 years).
• My firm will continue our initiative to increase our supplier diversity to achieve target metrics.
• My firm will continue to monitor work assignments from our largest clients to ensure that our diverse attorneys receive equitable assignments and opportunities from those clients.
• My firm will continue to share our “referring timekeeper” data with practice group chairs, and I will coordinate with the practice group chairs to ensure equitable work allocation.
• My firm will continue to ensure that at least 30% of all candidates that we consider for positions are from underrepresented groups.  My firm will continue the process of becoming Mansfield-certified and we will complete that process within the next year.
• My firm will continue to review client manager succession plans to ensure equitable client manager representation from our diverse attorneys.
• My firm will continue to hold at least six DE&I town-halls or training sessions each year to develop understanding and enthusiasm.
• My firm will conduct an engagement survey this year to help monitor our DE&I efforts.